United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Incorporated (UNFI)

Type	Public
Traded as	NASDAQ: UNFI
Industry	NAIC 42211: wholesale grocery
Founder	Michael Funk and Norman A. Cloutier
Headquarters	Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Area served	United States, Canada
Key people	Michael S. Funk, chair of the board; Steven L. Spinner, CEO
Products	wholesale natural, organic, ethnic and gourmet, grocery, produce, perishables, personal care, and supplements.
Revenue	US$ 6.064 billion (2013)
Operating income	US$ 1.025 billion (2013)
Number of employees	7,300
Divisions	UNFI Natural and Specialty Distribution, Albert's Organics, Blue Marble Brands, Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, Natural Retail Group, Select Nutrition Distributors, UNFI Canada
Slogan	Driven by Nature
Website	www.unfi.com

United Natural Foods, Incorporated, also known as UNFI, is a national distributor of natural and organic foods, specialty foods, and related products in the United States and Canada. The company provides services for retailers and manufacturers, including marketing and promotions, merchandising, category management, and store support services. UNFI's product line includes dry, refrigerated and frozen groceries, personal care products, supplements, fresh produce, perishables, and non-food items such as household cleaning products.

UNFI's customers include food cooperatives, supermarkets, natural food stores, and niche retailers such as Whole Foods Market in the United States, Canada, and more than forty other countries.

UNFI has a focus on corporate social responsibility. Examples include construction and renovation projects that achieve LEED certification, use of alternative fuels, Green Teams,^[1] and purchase of renewable energy from Eco Electrons.^[2] The corporation supports the Just Label It! movement that calls for the labeling of genetically modified and engineered foods. When discussing its philosophy, mission, and priorities UNFI foundation states that it is "committed to promoting healthy, sustainable, and organic food production and consumption" and educating people about healthy food choices.

History

UNFI was founded in 1996 by the merger of two regional distributors, Mountain People's Warehouse (founded in 1976, serving the Western U.S.) and Cornucopia Natural Foods (founded in 1977, serving the Eastern U.S.), forming the first natural products distributorship with national scope. Since 1996, other regional distributors have merged with UNFI, filling in the distribution footprint and making UNFI the largest distributor of natural products. In 2007 UNFI added specialty products distribution through the acquisition of Millbrook Distribution Services. In 2011, UNFI signed a distribution agreement with Safeway Inc. for the distribution of non-proprietary natural, organic and specialty products, making Safeway their second largest customer after Whole Foods.^[3]This agreement was terminated by Safeway in July, 2015^[4], leading to a drop in share price and two rounds of layoffs, their first in the history of the company. In 2012 UNFI partnered with Buyer's Best Friend to create a unified reordering system.^[5]

Organization

UNFI's distribution operations are divided into seven principal units,

1. UNFI Eastern Region
2. UNFI Western Region
3. Albert’s Organics
4. Select Nutrition
5. UNFI Canada (formerly SunOpta Distribution Group, includes Aux mille et une saisons)
6. Honest Green
7. Tony's Fine Foods

In addition to distribution operations, UNFI also operates the following divisions,

• Blue Marble Brands
• Earth Origins Market
• Woodstock Farm Manufacturing

See also

DPI Specialty Foods

References